With the holiday season barreling down upon us, the time is now to start preparing for the shopping rush. The last couple of years with Covid have increased the shopper base that is comfortable with shopping online, making demand for ecommerce critical this year.
This means that Amazon’s warehouse space is going to be even more limited than it typically is during this period. Sellers will notice that inventory limits may be placed on some of their SKUs, while Vendors may notice smaller POs from Amazon but at an increased frequency.
So what can you do to prepare? Here are some of the tips we like to make sure clients understand and plan for as the holiday season approaches.
1. Shore up inventory levels
Amazon likes products that are in stock. This is true all year round but especially during the holiday shopping windows. The healthier the stock behind an Amazon Standard Identification Number (ASIN), the fewer disruptions you will face with low inventory or stockouts. We see accounts that experience stockouts take weeks or even months to recover to their previous sales velocity. This is again because Amazon wants products that are in stock all the time.
It’s a poor customer experience for shoppers to find a product and then not be able to purchase it due to being out of stock. So Amazon will penalize listings that have limited or no inventory, and that can have lasting effects.
2. Evaluate pricing to be sure it can handle the Peak FBA fees
During the holiday season, Amazon increases its FBA fees for sellers due to the high demand it places on its warehouses. It’s called the Peak Fulfillment Fee and is in effect from 10/15/22 until 1/14/23. Check the pricing scale for FBA during holidays here. You can also check your size and category for the applicable date range.
3. Audit your current product content for timely messaging
You want your Amazon optimization schedule to line up to be in time with the upcoming holiday season. As you are auditing your content, keep in mind that more shoppers will be on Amazon throughout Q4 researching holiday gifts, as well as household staples.
Review your Product Title, bullet points, A+ Content, and Storefront for relevant keywords and how they match up with shoppers’ search behavior during this season. Also, be sure that images and video content shown in your A+ Content or Storefront is seasonally appropriate and highlights the giftability of your products.
4. Have an ad strategy in place for your full catalog
The holiday season is an exciting time to execute goals around your full product catalog. If you have new products to launch, this could be a good opportunity to get early conversions and high-traffic visibility. If you have products you’re closing out for the coming year, it’s a great time to move through that inventory.
Solid products that sell all year long can benefit from increased visibility as Amazon shoppers will be spending more time on-site. The same is true for products that may be slow movers. It would also make sense to have a priority around this group to help get end-of-year sales boosting their performance.
With these four steps, Amazon Sellers and Vendors can perform a quick health check to be sure that they meet the following criteria:
- Their inventory is ready;
- Products have ample margins;
- Customers will be pleased with the content;
- The full product catalog has a plan in place.
Implementing these four steps is critical for a successful holiday selling season, and that’s all before advertising!
